Of Ships and Partners
by random-antics-echelon
Summary: Tulio is ready to leave El Dorado and Miguel behind when Cortes and his men attack the city. Tulio realizes his feelings for Miguel when his partner risks his own life to save his. Poor summary, & I couldn't think of a good title. Oneshot, SLASH, Migulio!


**Hello there, everyone. Just wanted to let you know that this is my very first El Dorado fanfic. If you couldn't tell by my username, I'm more of a CSI writer. But I am more than happy to try this out! I am absolutely in love with this movie, have been since it came out when I was 10 years old. I went into a movie store that was closing last year and found a shelf with this dvd on it, so of course I bought it. I've been watching it and shipping Tulio and Miguel ever since. So I hope that you like this fic (especially since I have a story in the works after this is up). Reviews are very much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Road to El Dorado or any of its characters. (Le sigh)**

Tulio stood and looked at the ship in front of him. It was piled high with gold, his gold, waiting for him to take back to Spain. He looked down and saw Chel standing patiently by, smiling and waiting for him to join her. He smiled to himself, content. Or lat least he thought he was content. He sensed someone next to him suddenly, and he glanced over to see Miguel standing there. He frowned and looked back at the ship, knowing that Miguel wasn't coming home with him this time. He thought back to the previous night, the narrow escape from Tzekel-Kan's jaguar beast. He could have lost Miguel had it not been for their quick thinking. But the fight they had was awful. Tulio's frown deepened as he thought about their argument.

_"Well, now you have the precious gold, and Chel, so what do you need ME for?" Miguel snapped._

_ Tulio turned to face him angrily. "Well, maybe I DON'T need you anymore!"_

Tulio hadn't meant that, it wasn't true. He did need Miguel, he always had. He even thought he loved Miguel. But he had Chel now, right?

"Well…good luck," Miguel said sadly, looking up at the ship and its contents.

Tulio bit his lip, hearing the emotion in Miguel's words. The sadness and pain, which was also evident in his eyes. Tulio noticed the green in them had faded and lost their shine. He just wanted to hug Miguel and tell him he was sorry, beg him to come with him. He had to say _something_ to win his partner back.

"Yeah…you too." That was it? That was all he could think of to say? Tulio looked at his partner…or ex-partner now, one more time. He finally stepped forward and walked away. He could feel Miguel's eyes on his back, silently begging him to turn around, to stay. He reached the ship and put his arm around Chel, imagining he could hear Miguel's heart break from a distance. He swallowed hard as more memories rushed back to him. He and Miguel had argued more after the jaguar incident, an argument Tulio wished he could take back.

_Tulio stormed into the temple, spotting Miguel sitting on the corner of the bed. "So that's it then? You're going to stay here?" He approached Miguel angrily. "When were you planning on telling me?"_

_ Miguel stood and looked at Tulio. "Tulio…it's what I want. You never let me have what I want!"_

_ "That's not true!" Tulio exploded. "We're here, aren't we? That's what you wanted!"_

_ "I want YOU, Tulio!" Miguel cried. "I want you to stay here with me!"_

_ "We had a plan, Miguel!"_

_ "Forget the plan," Miguel begged._

_ "I'm NOT going to forget the plan!" Tulio snapped, walking away angrily._

_ "Oh right, you can't forget the plan, but you can forget me."_

_ Tulio stopped abruptly. "What?"_

_ "Don't play dumb, Tulio," Miguel said, tears now forming in his eyes. "Forget Miguel…remember? I heard everything! I saw everything." He sobbed suddenly, putting his face in his hands. "You betrayed me."_

_ Tulio turned to face him, completely shocked. He had no idea that Miguel had heard his conversation with Chel. He suddenly felt horribly guilty. "Miguel…"_

_ "Just leave me alone, Tulio," Miguel choked out, sitting back down on the bed. "You've done a pretty good job at it so far."_

_ Tulio felt a pang in his chest. He hated seeing Miguel in tears, and he especially hated being the reason for those tears. "Miguel, I'm sor-"_

_ "Just go!" Miguel cried, refusing to look at Tulio._

_ Tulio swallowed hard and backed out of the temple. He leaned against the outside wall, closing his eyes and sighing. The guilt piled on when he heard Miguel's sob coming from inside. "I'm sorry."_

Tulio sighed to himself; what kind of friend was he? He abandoned Miguel when he needed him the most, and here he was leaving him again. But this time it was forever, he would never see him again. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

"Tulio, something's wrong," Chel said, sounding frightened.

"What?" Tulio asked, looking around. He noticed that Altivo was going crazy and Miguel was trying to calm him down. People were yelling and running. "What's going on?"

"They're in the tunnel!" one of the citizens yelled. "They found us! They're being led by Tzekel-Kan!"

Tulio froze in his spot; this was bad, very bad. He looked down at Miguel. "Cortes."

"Cortes," Miguel said, looking up at Tulio. _I know we can't fight them, but we have to. I don't want Tulio getting hurt. _He saw Tulio disappear on deck, no doubt formulating a plan. He turned back towards the chief. "It's best to prepare the warriors."

"Warriors!" the chief yelled. Everyone began rushing around again.

Miguel swallowed back his panic and looked towards the tunnel. He knew they couldn't win a fight; Cortes and his men had guns. He glanced back up at the ship, pondering. _Tulio can get out safe; he has a ship. I can send Altivo with them and…"_

"Chief!" Tulio called out, interrupting Miguel's thoughts. He raised a gold cup and smiled. "I've got a plan."

Miguel stood back and watched Tulio begin to put his plan into action. They were going to crash the boat into the pillars, and it would wash Cortes and his men out. Miguel smiled a little to himself, knowing that Tulio could think of a brilliant plan in any situation. That's why they were still alive. He looked down at the ship and noticed Tulio was looking up at him from the deck. His heart jumped a little, but the feeling died when Tulio glared and looked away. Miguel frowned and looked to the ground. _I love his so much, why can't he see that? Why did he have to pick her?_

Tulio glanced back up at Miguel, his glare turning to a guilty frown when he saw the hurt on Miguel's face.

Chel stood behind Tulio, a knowing look in her eyes. She knew Tulio loved Miguel, that he would never be the same without him.

Tulio gathered himself and looked to the chief. "On my signal, hit the-" He was cut off by the crack of gunfire. He quickly hit the deck as a bullet whizzed past and buried itself in the mast.

Miguel gasped and stepped forward. Tulio was ok, he could tell, but Cortes ad his men were already at the entrance to the city!

The next few moments were chaos. Guns were being fired; spears were being thrown. People were yelling. "It's stuck!" Tulio yelled from the ship. The sails wouldn't come down.

Miguel looked at the crumbling pillar and then to Cortes' fast approaching army. "They're not going to make it!" he said to himself. _I have to do something!_ "Altivo!" he called, watching his faithful horse gallop towards him.

Tulio looked up in shock to see Miguel and Altivo racing past the crumbling pillar, large pieces of stone narrowly missing them. "Are you crazy?" he yelled. He held his breath when Miguel leapt from Altivo and snatched the sails. _After everything I did he still came to help me. God, I love him. _He cringed when Miguel landed with a thud on the deck. He rushed over and knelt down in front of him. "Miguel." He was at a loss for words as he stared at Miguel. The moment was short lived, as more gunfire arose and bullets cascaded the deck.

Miguel leapt up and gave the chief the signal to release the pillar, and then began rushing around to fix things. He noticed that Tulio hadn't budged, and he smiled to himself. _Sure surprised him. _It was that moment when he looked back and saw Cortes in the background, raising his gun and pointing it directly at Tulio. "Tulio!" he yelled, launching himself at his partner.

"Huh?" Tulio started. He was suddenly knocked sideways to the floor. He heard the crack of a gun, Miguel cry out, Chel scream, and another thud. _What just happened? _ He sat up and looked around, freezing in terror when his eyes landed on Miguel. His partner was on his side on the deck, eyes closed, a small pool of blood forming. _No…_ He ran over and fell next to Miguel. "NO!" he cried, looking down on his friend. He looked up to see Cortes grinning wickedly from his boat.

"Tulio!" Chel exclaimed, coming down next to him. She looked down at Miguel and gasped. "Oh no."

"T-Take care of him," Tulio choked out, forcing back tears and gently touching Miguel's cheek. "I'm ending this now." He stood and raced to the front of the ship and the pillar crashed down behind them and sent up a large wave. He could see many of Cortes' men being washed back. He quickly grabbed the lever and steered the boat sideways. _This is for my partner! _He grinned when Cortes made a face as he was knocked off his boat and sent back towards the entrance. Jamming the lever so the boat would stay sideways, Tulio raced back towards Chel and Miguel. Chel had Miguel in her arms, and there were tears in her eyes. Altivo was even there, nudging his master with his nose to try and wake him up. Tulio's heart clenched at the scene in front of him. _Why him? It should have been me. _"We have to get on the horse now."

Chel looked up at him in disbelief. "Jump off the boat? But-"

"We have to try," Tulio interrupted, kneeling down. "For him." He looked sadly at Miguel before pulling him into his own arms. "Get on Altivo, I'll be right behind you." He made sure Chel was on the horse first before carefully mounting with Miguel in his arms. He clung tightly to him with one arm and Chel with the other as Altivo leapt from the deck. He nuzzled his forehead against Miguel's. "I love you," he whispered.

Altivo made a brilliant landing on the ground, and people flocked towards them. Cheers went up, Cortes and his men were gone! The cheers quickly died to gasps of shock and sadness when Tulio dismounted with Miguel.

"Make room!" the chief yelled, pushing people aside to let Tulio through.

Tulio only got a few feet from Altivo before he crumbled to his knees. He broke down, clutching Miguel to himself and sobbing. "No!" he kept repeating. "No, no, no…not you." He was shaking when Chel knelt down and put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"Tulio," she said quietly, frowning sadly at Miguel's still figure in his arms.

"He's gone," Tulio cried. "He's gone, it's my fault."

"My lord," the chief began quietly. "Let us take Lord Miguel to the temple."

Tulio looked up, his vision blurred by tears. "I can't let him go," he said sorrowfully.

"You don't have to," the chief said.

Tulio nodded and stood once more, carrying his partner in his arms, completely heartbroken. _This is my fault. I should have been paying attention. He's gone because of me. I-_

"T-Tulio," a weak voice arose.

Tulio stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down at Miguel and gasped when his eyelids slowly fluttered open. "Miguel." He panicked when Miguel whimpered a little and passed out again. "Miguel, hold on, please!" He took off running, racing up the temple stairs without stopping to breath. The chief and several others were close behind, but not nearly as fast as him. He finally reached the top and ran inside. He carefully set Miguel down on the down, panting heavily. He looked back when the chief put his hand on his shoulder.

"My lord, you must rest," the chief suggested, noticing how out of breath Tulio was.

"I can't," Tulio choked out. "He needs…help. He…needs me and-"

"My lord, at least sit down," the chief cut in, leading Tulio to a nearby chair. "Lord Miguel must be treated now." He motioned to a native woman who was standing next to the bed preparing some things. "This is Sheltana, she is the best healer in the city. She will tend to Lord Miguel."

Tulio had a brief thought about how Miguel would have been excited about a woman taking care of him. He finally looked back up at the chief. "I love him, I can't let him die."

The chief smiled a little. "He is in good hands."

Tulio watched from his seat as Sheltana pulled away Miguel's shirt. He cringed when he saw the wound on his side. The bullet had really only grazed him, but it caused too much blood for Tulio's comfort. He watched as Sheltana apply some sort of liquid to a cloth and press it against the wound.

Miguel suddenly woke up at the feeling of pressure on his injured side. He moaned a little and cringed away.

Tulio leapt up from his chair and hurried over to the bed. "Miguel…Miguel, look at me."

Miguel looked up at Tulio and calmed down a little. "T-Tulio," he barely whispered.

"I'm here," Tulio said softly, taking Miguel's hand.

"H-Hurts," Miguel whined, closing his eyes.

"I know," Tulio said with a frown. Miguel never admitted when he was in pain. "The healer, she's going to make you better. You have to relax, ok?"

"K-Kay," Miguel said quietly.

Tulio swallowed hard, quickly moving to the other side of the bed where he could sit and hold Miguel's hand. He watched Sheltana carefully clean the wound and apply a gel-like substance to it. When Miguel once again cringed away, Tulio ran his hand gently through his hair, pleased to see that it calmed him down a little.

"It will lessen the pain," Sheltana explained about the gel-like substance, smiling at Tulio. "Although, you seem to be doing just that by yourself."

Tulio was confused for a moment before he looked down, realizing that his one hand was caressing Miguel's cheek while the other was holding his hand. He blushed a little and looked up at Sheltana. "I, um…I."

"Love him? I know. I heard you say it earlier." Sheltana smiled as she finished bandaging Miguel's side. "Never have I seen two people so alike as you and Lord Miguel."

"I betrayed him," Tulio said with a frown. "After promising nothing would come between us."

"Yet here you are," Sheltana said as she began to put her supplies away. "I am finished here. He needs plenty of rest for now. Perhaps you could stay here with him?"

Tulio smiled a little and nodded. He watched Sheltana leave, and then looked back down at Miguel. "Hey," he said softly.

Miguel opened his eyes a little and smiled in return. "You…ok?"

"Yeah thanks to you." Tulio smiled a little, but then frowned. "You could have died, I don't know what I would have done if-"

"Tulio," Miguel interrupted.

Tulio stopped, biting his lip. "I never would have forgiven myself…I love you."

"Yeah?" Miguel asked tiredly, his eyes closing again.

Tulio smiled in return. "Yeah." He carefully pulled Miguel into a hug. "I'm sorry…for everything. I never should have said those things to you. I never should have suggested that I don't care about you. You're everything to me." He blushed a little, knowing that this was the first time in a long time that he was this sincere with Miguel.

"I love you too," Miguel said quietly, looking up at Tulio. "Didn't think I would…get a chance to tell you."

Tulio smiled once more. "I should have told you sooner." He paused for a moment, and then leaned down and kissed Miguel.

Miguel was completely shocked. "You…mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"But…we're stuck here now. The gates…we can't leave. You'll be mad."

"I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with you." Tulio smiled and kissed his partner once again. "You need to get some rest now."

Miguel nodded, drifting off quickly. "Stay with me?"

"You bet," Tulio whispered. He carefully set Miguel back down against the pillows and then settled down next to him. He took his hand in his own as he began to fall asleep. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes. _What an adventure._

**End….Fin….**

**So…how was it? Like it, hate it, not quite sure? I think I mentioned earlier I have a story in the works, which I hope to start putting up chapters for soon. Reviews are awesome. Thanks, guys!**


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